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Several dozens trees being planted was just
the start - Dell is joining City Parks in recruiting volunteers to look after Soweto parks.
PEOPLE from Dobsonville joined staff
members from City
Parks and Dell, the
computer manufacturer, in planting trees and making a difference to the
environment.
City Parks, turning Soweto green
Together they planted 50 trees, sponsored
by Dell, in the Dobsonville Park, in Soweto,
on Thursday, 25 June. The planting was part of Joburg's Greening Soweto legacy
project.
According to Marks Sethaelo, the parks
manager, through efforts like this, City Parks has planted 154 264 out of the
200 000 trees it is planting as a legacy of the 2010 World Cup.
Planting trees had a global impact. "We
need to work together to deal with the impact of global warming in our planet. This
initiative is not about how many trees have been planted but the impact that
each tree has on the environment."
He emphasised that parents needed to manage
the environment for the benefit of the coming generations. "We are obliged to leave
a legacy for our children."
Dell got involved in this initiative after
one of its employees, Michael Langeveld, asked the company if it could do
something to help environment conservation in Soweto.
"Dell supports the conservation of the environment,"
said Karen Matthews, the company's development fund marketer. "We try to reach
out in the communities where our employees work. Michael stays in Soweto and he saw a need
and asked if we could help.
"We do not want to just give funding but we
want to commit ourselves to the communities and make an impact."
Community involvement
The event also marked the launch of the Dell and City Parks
volunteer programme. The two will recruit 500 volunteers to look after all Soweto parks and make
sure that they are not vandalised.
Volunteers' uniforms, which include caps,
bibs and golf shirts, are also sponsored by Dell. "Applications for volunteers will
be opened on City Parks' website from next week," said the utility's Oscar
Oliphant.
City Parks is also working with the Soweto
Environmental Forum, a local organisation that helps to educate the community
about environmental issues. "We do campaigns to teach communities about issues
such as water conservation, waste minimisation and food gardens. We also go to
schools to educate children about these things," said Gift Malapane, the
organisation's chief executive.
The organisation's Lebogang Phanyeko emphasised
that it ensured that people at community level understood global warming and
how to deal with it. "We also work with companies like Pikitup and Johannesburg
Water."
It is also involved in getting the
community on board. "We emphasise issues
of public participation because without the community's involvement all this is
useless," said Itumeleng Pooe, the manager of the Soweto Environmental Forum.
Community ownership
"One of the ways we measure community ownership of these parks is by the number
of facilities vandalised," said Sethaelo. "Very few facilities have been
vandalised and when something is broken members of the community call and
report it. That shows that people around here take ownership of parks."
City Parks also employs people from Soweto to work in these
parks.
At yesterday's planting, children from
Reikagile Day Care Centre in Dobsonville, sang the national anthem and
explained the use of colours in the South African flag.
It is not the end of the partnership between
City Parks and Dell, however. "We are coming
back in September to see if the park is well maintained. We also want to paint
the walls [around the park]," said Matthews.
"We will also speak to the community and
find out what they need in this park."
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